Letters to the editor

The tragic massacre that happened in Las Vegas has stunned Americans and countries across the globe. As usual, when such malice and sinister acts of terror occur, the media relentlessly focus on this “monster,” who is guilty of committing a crime so heinous that even hell will refuse to let him in.

We must not lose sight of those brave volunteer citizens and first responders, law enforcement and other agencies — their act of valor and their unwavering bravery shows their dedication to insure our freedom, our rights, and especially, our lives. My heart goes out to the families and friends who have lost loved ones. The best way I know to show my gratitude and appreciation to those who lost their lives is to carry on their message of continued vigilance of our surroundings, but also to continue our enjoyment of life and giving tribute to all the men and women who died in vain.

Jo Hamilton

Jackson

Taking a knee: Unity for who?

When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, he did as much as any one person has ever done to divide our country. Polls show 60 percent to 80 percent of people don’t like this type of interruption. Sports has always been a great unifier for our nation. It’s a place you can go to get away from politics, work, and basically, the ills of our world. It may be for only a few hours, but cheering and high-fiving folks you don’t even know is a good feeling.

Striving for unity seems to be the catch phrase I keep hearing, but that makes no sense to me. I thought thousands of Americans, of all races, standing together, singing the national anthem with jets flying over and hats off was unity.

When Kaepernick knelt in disrespect of the flag and the anthem, he violated the sanctuary of commonality in all sports fans. The only unity I see in that is the unification of a group of multimillionaire players who either hate America or are ignorant to what they are doing. If you have grievances with things outside of sports, then use your fame and fortune to work on them — outside the sanctuary of sports. Use athletic toughness to get by the president’s words, such as SOB (which you have probably been called by a coach at some point in time) and see the bigger picture. Use your millions of dollars to attack the real problems of our society, such as gangs, babies born out of wedlock, breakdown of the family, and so on.

People will eventually grow weary of the immaturity and ignorance of some of the players — especially those who act like dogs relieving themselves after a touchdown.